I keep telling myself that with all the daily practice I get on my converted Sbach that by the time I pull the trigger on getting my own new shiny Sbach I will be able to fly it forever without a scratch. But it's getting to be too much reading this thread. Maybe I should unsubscribe?
Mike

... flying my old funky converted Sbach hoping that someday I'll have an excuse to buy a shiny new one.
...Mike

Send it to me for a couple weeks - I'll give you a reason.
There's this kid in our club - has crashed & totaled 14 planes to date - including one (56" wingspan) going down in a bean field 2 months ago that hasn't been found yet.
As intermediary, I'm gonna have to ask for a loser's fee, tho.

Man, this thing is even better looking in real life - pics don't do it justice. Unfortunately, it was pitch dark AND blowing 15-20 when I picked it up, so no maiden to report yet.

She's all bound, the manual's been read, the SFG's have been put on, taken off, put on, taken off, put on . . .

Gave her a shot of full throttle while holding her. I can't wait to send her vertical tomorrow a.m.! Man, that motor just sounds nice.

Anyone know how to remove the wheel pants without breaking them off? I mean BEFORE the first landing. I figure their not going to last long and I think they look kind of cheap anyway. I might have to get a set set of the shapeways ones.

A little surprised not to see Joel's report yet - Guess he was serious when he said "story at 11!!"

Got 10 batteries through it this evening. Weather went from way too much wind to not enough to give it a test. Tonight was 3-5 mph and beautiful weather. I believe it flies as good as my version 1 in most everything I have tried and a bit better in a few things. The only thing I am really going to work on is landing it. It seems like it doesn't want to land. Almost like the as3x system is giving it some up elev as you slow it down and then it finally gets so slow about 6-10 inches off the ground that it sort of plops down the last little bit. I don't land this way preferring to fly all the way to the ground. I want it to hit rolling on the main gear with wheels on or slide across the grass for a few feet without wheels over grass. Haven't been anywhere where I could put the wheels on and grass landings it just stops when it hits the ground. Scuffed up the fake air intake on the front pretty bad, so coated it with a thin coat of epoxy, painted and then covered it with a small piece of blenderm. Afraid I would beat up the gear pretty bad this way. Have to practice flying it down lower faster to get it to slide I suppose. Haven't tried anything real fancy as I'm not that proficient, but loops, rolls, knife edge, inverted flight are all duck soup. Played with battery placement and so far like it with a bit over 1/4" out in front of the back of the hatch opening. It takes just a bit of down to maintain level inverted flight like this, but if I move it back further, seems like it wants to drop the tail low in upright flight when you slow it down. Seems to be stable at somewhat low speeds, but abruptly reaches a speed that controls are not effective anymore without much warning. If you just punch it quickly all is well though. Anyway, that's sort of my 2 cents worth from an advanced beginner that's a long long way from being an expert.

Man, this thing is even better looking in real life - pics don't do it justice. Unfortunately, it was pitch dark AND blowing 15-20 when I picked it up, so no maiden to report yet.

She's all bound, the manual's been read, the SFG's have been put on, taken off, put on, taken off, put on . . .

Gave her a shot of full throttle while holding her. I can't wait to send her vertical tomorrow a.m.! Man, that motor just sounds nice.

Anyone know how to remove the wheel pants without breaking them off? I mean BEFORE the first landing. I figure their not going to last long and I think they look kind of cheap anyway. I might have to get a set set of the shapeways ones.

A little surprised not to see Joel's report yet - Guess he was serious when he said "story at 11!!"

There will be no sleep tonight.

Just got mine today too, to late to fly it though. I'll get some batts in tomorrow

The only thing I am really going to work on is landing it. It seems like it doesn't want to land. Almost like the as3x system is giving it some up elev as you slow it down and then it finally gets so slow about 6-10 inches off the ground that it sort of plops down the last little bit. I don't land this way preferring to fly all the way to the ground. I want it to hit rolling on the main gear with wheels on or slide across the grass for a few feet without wheels over grass.

Mine has the same problem with landings. However this plane harrier lands beautifully! Learn those and you'll literally be able to land on a dime!

If you want to land conventionally you'll need to land it relatively fast. Fly it all the way to the ground and when it is only inches off the ground reduce throttle. The plane seems to auto-flare so don't add any additional back stick. It will touch down tail low on the mains and the tail will touch almost immediately after the mains. Trying to three-point, for me at least, leads to the float-plop you described.

The only thing I am really going to work on is landing it. It seems like it doesn't want to land. Almost like the as3x system is giving it some up elev as you slow it down and then it finally gets so slow about 6-10 inches off the ground that it sort of plops down the last little bit. I don't land this way preferring to fly all the way to the ground. I want it to hit rolling on the main gear with wheels on or slide across the grass for a few feet without wheels over grass. Haven't been anywhere where I could put the wheels on and grass landings it just stops when it hits the ground.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kalmon

Mine has the same problem with landings. However this plane harrier lands beautifully! Learn those and you'll literally be able to land on a dime!

If you want to land conventionally you'll need to land it relatively fast. Fly it all the way to the ground and when it is only inches off the ground reduce throttle. The plane seems to auto-flare so don't add any additional back stick. It will touch down tail low on the mains and the tail will touch almost immediately after the mains. Trying to three-point, for me at least, leads to the float-plop you described.

-Brian

It does seem to be an AS3X thing - that gyro locks onto a heading and does it's level best (pun intended) to hold it. I find it with my GeeBee as well. You have to consciously bring it in nose down, until it basically touches the ground. If you fly it along the ground and just reduce throttle, it just kind of hangs there until it either stalls, or drops. I've learned with the GeeBee that when it get's that locked in feeling on landing to ease the stick forward just slightly, or come around again for another approach.

Mine has the same problem with landings. However this plane harrier lands beautifully! Learn those and you'll literally be able to land on a dime!

If you want to land conventionally you'll need to land it relatively fast. Fly it all the way to the ground and when it is only inches off the ground reduce throttle. The plane seems to auto-flare so don't add any additional back stick. It will touch down tail low on the mains and the tail will touch almost immediately after the mains. Trying to three-point, for me at least, leads to the float-plop you described.

-Brian

Glad to hear it might not be just my inabilities and someone else has noticed it too. And I never use up elevator before touching down. I forgot to mention that it seems to be a bit of a battery hog too. It was wanting to shut down at about 5 minutes with same batteries I fly 7 or more without shutoff on my version 1 and 8-9 minutes on my stryker. But then I would only be showing 3.93 or so each cell and only put 110-115ma back in when I put them on the charger. I do believe they did the best job so far on the as3x system. It's not nearly as bothersome as I find the one in the CC. Just need some basic 10-12 mph wind to test it now.

I started a new thread in the battery section and haven't had much response
so I will try here

What is best way to convert nanotech 300 with red jst to the UMX plugs (JST-PH) ?
for use with Eflite UMX planes like beast and sbach there are some 2s 300mah nanotech batteries that come with a red JST connector.
I use UMX connector (JST- PH). How to convert....

So, can I simply cut off the jst xh balance tap--and using one of the jst wires splice in the the 3 wire UMX connector--shown here? Then I would just cut off the JST connector altogether since balancing and charging happen through the UMX connector.http://www.rc-connectors.com/index.p...ki0ejgt0hm7p05

Glad to hear it might not be just my inabilities and someone else has noticed it too. And I never use up elevator before touching down. I forgot to mention that it seems to be a bit of a battery hog too. It was wanting to shut down at about 5 minutes with same batteries I fly 7 or more without shutoff on my version 1 and 8-9 minutes on my stryker. But then I would only be showing 3.93 or so each cell and only put 110-115ma back in when I put them on the charger. I do believe they did the best job so far on the as3x system. It's not nearly as bothersome as I find the one in the CC. Just need some basic 10-12 mph wind to test it now.

The battery life on mine is great. Not quite as good as my V1 but I am getting 6-7min depending on type of flight on my 2S 240s. With the Beast3D I land at 5min! For an identical power system That is a HUGE increase in flight time.

Went to the field for the maiden, and there were a few others enjoying the great flying wx. The wind was 6-11 MPH. Flew with a lightweight Hyp 240 Babbelbatt first, and then with a lightweight TP 325 65c Babbelbatt. As can be seen in the video, the TP pack definitely has better vertical & top speed. I didn't get a chance to try the new Hyp 500 35c, so that will have to wait until tomorrow. Ditto for the SFGs.

As one would expect - like her predecessor, the Sbach 3D is an excellent flier. She flies as if she's on rails, even better than the V1. The basic personality of the V1 is definitely there, but this Sbach went to etiquette school & graduated with top honors! Maneuvers are graceful & fluid, yet precise. She definitely flies big. Makes me want to fly IMAC-style.

Thrust-to-weight seems to be markedly improved over the V1 - no doubt due to the new 4.9A ESC. There is ample power for any aerobatic maneuver. She effortlessly climbs vertically out of a hover - even with the factory prop. Unlimited rolling verticals are easy, even late into the flight. There is plenty of vertical speed, so handling remains crisp on long up-lines & she tracks like an arrow all the way up. The pilot's eyesight is the only limit.

Great news! With a TP 325 all the way back, she was still just a tad tail-heavy! This means it should be easy to get the CG right with a variety of packs. I did have to widen the compartment by about 2 mm to accommodate the TP 325 pack. The front of the compartment is fine, but there is a slight step on each side of the compartment, part way back. I simply removed the step so that the battery compartment is the same width all the way back. My TP 325 & Hyp 500 packs now fit just fine. I'm thinking that the new Hyp 400 & 500 35c packs will be excellent choices for endurance flights & flying in higher winds.

Right out of the box, the Sbach 3D is a true unlimited aerobatic ship. A UM-sized plane that is equally at home doing pattern, 3D, and even IMAC-style aerobatics. I can hardly wait to see what she can do with a better prop. And a 3s pack...